Anybody have any comments about the hunter education courses, which are required to be taken before a hunting license is issued for the first time?
I had been a hunter up to the age of 22, and now that I am retiring (with more time on my hands) I am somewhat surprised at the requirements, though not in a negative way. What DOES get my goat is the difficulty in finding a convenient course to take. And that's keeping in mind the NRA pistol course I had to take for my handgun permit.

What DOES get my goat is the difficulty in finding a convenient course to take.

Really not that hard to find. Google search for CT Hunting Course.
Here is the list of current classes for the firearms hunting class. They change as more get added. But they will probably fill up fast this time of year.
Do not wait till there is one in your town! One may never open up.
They are first come first serve.

Frontsight, thank you for the link; I already have it as one of my "favorites" in my browser. I check it almost every day, and I have found that for the ones within less-than-forever driving distances, they seem to fill up the very time they are posted! I have asked the DEEP about this and they insist it is first-come first-served, but cannot explain how they are filled to capacity as they are posted. Very curious, to say the least. I have been following that site for at least six months, and the only open ones are quite far away, and also in the less-populated parts of the state. I'll keep watching it, though.

I have been watching the deep site for 2 years now and only called once. Only ro find out the class was full. I really dont understand how this could be. If my math is right then every one in ct should have there license by 2014. Oh yah evey one but me.....

if ou are lucky enough toown 20 acres, or are a lineal descendant of someone that does, you dont need a license, you do if you go on state, or someone elses land. i got my tages last year for free as a lineal descendant, turkey tags to for fall and spring

I grew up in Delaware, my parents were divorced when I was 10 y.o., my father wasn't around much back then. My mother knew how interested I was in the outdoors, hunting and fishing. She told me when I was 15 y.o. and wanted to buy a shotgun that I had to take a hunters safety course, or no gun.

I signed up, took the course and as a bonus, back then, they took the kids goose hunting on Bombayhook National Waterfowl Refuge, 2 kids per blind. We both limited out that day! I'm hooked for life!!

Obviously, I believe in them and hope they continue to be as available to kids in the future as they were to me, a kid without a lot of mentors and opportunities to get started.

__________________"Your fear is 100% dependent on you for it's survival." - Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free